Special collections

Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College, founded in South London in 1917 to train kindergarten teachers, moved to Kingston Hill in 1946 after WWII and joined Kingston Polytechnic in 1975. The collection includes:

• Records of the College
• Records of its first principal, Lilian de Lissa
• Featuring correspondence
• Meeting minutes
• Newsletters
• Financial records
• Photographs
• Memorabilia

Kingston Technical Institute was founded in 1899, focusing on science and arts education. In 1930, its arts branch became a separate institution. The two institutions reunited in 1970, forming Kingston Polytechnic.

The collection includes prospectuses, course guides, staff calendars, and press cuttings. Photographs are preserved in the Kingston University Photographs Collection.

Kingston School of Art, originally part of Kingston Technical Institute, became independent in 1930 and moved to Knights Park in 1939. It gained a strong reputation in fashion, architecture, and illustration before merging with Kingston College of Technology in 1970 to form Kingston Polytechnic.

Our collections for Kingston School of Art include prospectuses, course guides, correspondence, press cuttings, and exhibition and fashion show leaflets and posters.

Kingston Polytechnic was established in 1970 through the merger of Kingston College of Technology and Kingston School of Art, with Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College joining in 1975. In 1992 Kingston Polytechnic became Kingston University.

Our collections include press cuttings, prospectuses, strategy documents, newsletters, and magazines. Photographs are available in the Kingston University Photographs Collection. We also hold items reflecting student activities, such as records from the Rams Rugby Club and the Kingston Polytechnic Geological Society.

This archive holds photographs of Kingston University and its predecessor institutions, including Kingston Technical Institute, Kingston School of Art, Gipsy Hill Teacher Training College, and Kingston Polytechnic. These images cover events, campuses, classes, student activities, and exhibitions.

You can view images from the collection on our Digital Collections website. We are always looking to expand our collection and welcome any historical photographs of the University and its predecessors.

The Knights Park Special Collection includes art and design materials, spanning historic to contemporary publications. While it primarily supports Kingston School of Art, it also relates to other fields like literature, history, and education. 

Notable items include art deco design publications, 19th-century architectural pattern books, private press books, and a collection of illustrated children's literature. The current collecting focus is on artists' books and paper engineering.

Denis Berry led the School of Architecture at Kingston School of Art, and later Kingston Polytechnic from 1966 to 1988, during which the department expanded in size and reputation.

The archive includes materials collected by Denis and his wife Sandra Berry. Materials include; course management records, accreditation submissions, staff lists, module guides, and architecture-related work by staff and students, such as town studies and exhibitions.

Barbara Freeman, a student at Kingston School of Art in the 1920s, became a successful book illustrator. Her collection includes sketchbooks from her student days, featuring work on anatomy, life drawing, nature, illustration, and printing, along with notes on artistic practices and the modules she studied.

Vane Ivanovic (1913–99) was an athlete, shipowner, philanthropist, and diplomat who worked towards a democratic Yugoslavia during his exile. His library and archive contain about 5,000 books on 20th-century European history, particularly the Balkans, as well as topics like WWII, politics, and sports. 

The archive also includes materials related to the 1936 and 1948 Olympics, the Special Operations Executive, and Ivanovic's work for the Consulate in Monaco. Some documents and books are in Serbo-Croat. Appointments to consult these materials require at least 48 hours' notice.

Iris Murdoch (1919–99) was a renowned author and philosopher, writing 25 novels and winning the Booker Prize in 1978 for The Sea, The Sea. The archive holds a number of collections and two libraries which previously belonged to Iris Murdoch. They are:

Iris Murdoch Oxford Library

A library of more than 1,000 books which are predominantly on philosophy and theology. Many of the texts contain annotations and underlining made by Murdoch. Other items in the collection include Iris Murdoch's note on a lecture by Jean-Paul Sartre, a collection of music scores, and Iris Murdoch's collections of beer coasters and roman oil lamps.

Iris Murdoch London Library

A library of more than 100 books kept by Murdoch. As well as first editions of several of her own novels, the library contains books written by Murdoch's friends and other texts presented to her. This includes her childhood bible and the presentation copy of The Sea, The Sea given when Murdoch won the Booker Prize in 1978.

Peter Conradi Archive

This collection contains research materials gathered by Peter Conradi while researching the biography, Iris Murdoch: A Life. It contains research on, and correspondence with, many individuals who knew Iris Murdoch. The collection also holds articles on Murdoch and her work, originals and copies of Murdoch's writing and letters written by Iris Murdoch to others, including a large run written to Peter Conradi.

Letters written by Iris Murdoch

The archive holds numerous collections of letters written by Iris Murdoch to others, with more than 3,000 letters in total. The letters are catalogued as they have arrived in the archive, typically grouped by correspondent. The major correspondents are listed below. 

• Brigid Brophy, author. Around 1,000 letters and postcards.
• Carmen Callil, publisher. Around 30 letters and postcards.
• Roly Cochrane, translator and scholar. Around 200 letters and postcards.
• Peter Conradi, Murdoch's biographer. These letters are part of the Peter Conradi Archive.
• Barbara Dorf, artist. Around 100 letters
• Scott Dunbar, philosopher. Around 150 letters and postcards.
• Rachel Fenner, artist and former student of Iris Murdoch. Around 300 letters and postcards.
• Philippa Foot, philosopher. Around 300 letters. This collection was purchased with the help of the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund.
• Stephen Gardiner, architect. Around 164 letters.
• John Gheeraert, author and philosopher. Around 60 letters and postcards.
• Hal Lidderdale, book editor and University friend of Iris Murdoch. Around 60 letters.
• Mary McIntosh, sociologist and student of Murdoch's. Around 15 letters.
• Denis Paul, teacher and philosophy student. Around 180 letters and postcards.
• Leo Pliatzky, civil servant and friend of Murdoch's. Around 50 letters.
• Raymond Queneau, author and philosopher. Around 175 letters.
• Suguna Ramanathan, scholar. Around 34 letters.
• WW Robson, literary scholar and former fiancé of Iris Murdoch. Around 20 letters and poems.
• Harry Weinberger, artist. Around 300 letters and postcards.

Iris Murdoch's journals, poetry notebooks and other items

Kindly donated by Audi Bayley, this collection includes 15 personal diaries kept by Iris Murdoch from 1939 to 1996. The diaries document her daily life, thoughts on philosophy, and ideas for novels and poems. The collection also contains unpublished poems, notes for her Gifford lectures and personal photographs.

Publishing News was a magazine for the publishing industry, published from 1979 to 2008, covering major events in the book trade. The Publishing News Archive includes a complete set of the magazine, along with predecessor publications such as Books and Bookmen. It also contains editor research on key figures in the book trade, photographs, and materials related to the British Book Awards, which were founded by the magazine's staff.

View the web archive of Publishing News articles from 2001–08.

Wendy Perriam, author of 17 novels and eight short story collections, also teaches creative writing and has written articles and given interviews about her work. The archive includes research, plot outlines, first drafts, typescripts with edits, and personal items like correspondence and photographs. The collection is regularly updated.

The Women's Prize for Fiction was first awarded in 1996. The prize seeks to ensure that women's writing is acknowledged and celebrated.

The archive contains material on the prize, including background research, press releases and publicity materials  It also contains material on the initiatives created by the prize to encourage reading and discussion around women's literature. The collection continues to grow as the prize is awarded each year.

Sheridan Morley, a renowned theatre critic with a background in the performing arts, was also an author, broadcaster, director and cabaret artist. The Sheridan Morley Theatre Collection includes over 5,000 books on various aspects of performance, with a focus on biographies and play scripts. The archive contains his writings, research, notes on books and shows, correspondence, and a large collection of historical theatre memorabilia.

The Stephen Sondheim Society was founded to celebrate the work of the famous musical theatre composer, known for shows like West Side Story, Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd. The Society's archive includes programmes, posters, press articles, books, recordings, memorabilia, and materials related to the Society's activities, including a complete run of its magazine. The archive continues to grow as the Society promotes Sondheim's musicals

David Heneker, a musical theatre composer known for Charlie Girl, Irma la Douche, and Half a Sixpence, also wrote songs for cabaret and supported the war effort during WWII. The David Heneker Archive includes script drafts, original scores and lyrics, programmes, posters, correspondence, photographs, and materials related to his wartime work.

Cary Ellison, who began his career as an actor in 1939, later joined casting directory Spotlight in 1953. He toured repertory theatre companies, making detailed notes on plays, casts, and directors to help match actors with roles and identify future stars. The Cary Ellison Theatre Programme Collection includes programmes from his tours between 1953 and 1980, along with his extensive notes on the casts and productions.

Brian Smith, a teacher with a deep passion for the arts, collected theatre programmes throughout his life, attending plays, concerts, and operas. The Brian Smith Theatre Programme Collection includes programmes from major first-run plays, many productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as operas and classical music concerts.

David Jacobs, a popular broadcaster and disc jockey known for Jukebox Jury and his radio work, had strong ties to Kingston University. The David Jacobs LP Collection includes over 1,000 LPs from his personal collection, covering genres like easy listening, film soundtracks, swing, folk, and jazz. The LPs are available for borrowing from the Nightingale Centre Library at Kingston Hill campus.